Category: Emilia-Romagna
Piacenza: Santa Maria di Campagna
Piacenza: San Sisto
Piacenza: San Francesco
Piacenza: Palazzo Gotico and Piazza dei Cavalli
Piacenza: San Giovanni in Canale
Piacenza: Sant’Antonino

Saint Antoninus is considered the patron saint of Piacenza, together with Saint Justina of Antioch. According to a not necessarily reliable tradition he was a soldier who was martyred in about 303 during the persecutions of Christians orchestrated by the emperor Diocletianus. His martyrdom was said to have taken place…
Piacenza: San Savino
Piacenza: The Duomo
Ravenna: Santa Maria in Porto
Ferrara: Palazzo dei Diamanti
Ferrara: Palazzo Schifanoia
Ferrara: Castello Estense

The Castello Estense in the centre of Ferrara is arguably the city’s most famous building. Constructed primarily for defensive purposes towards the end of the fourteenth century, it later became the archetypal Italian Renaissance palace. Nowadays, its outward appearance is still quite impressive, but once inside, the castle feels rather…
Ferrara: Santa Maria in Vado
Ferrara: The Duomo
Ravenna: Dante’s tomb

Dante Alighieri (ca. 1265-1321) is perhaps the most famous Italian poet ever. He is best known for his Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy), which consists of three parts: Hell (or Inferno), Purgatory and Paradise. Although Dante was born and raised in Florence and can be considered one of the most important…
Ravenna: Sant’Apollinare in Classe

Of the eight UNESCO World Heritage sites in Ravenna, the Sant’Apollinare in Classe is the youngest monument. Classe is nowadays a frazione of the municipality of Ravenna, a small suburb located some five kilometres south of the city centre. By chance we visited the Sant’Apollinare in Classe first, even though…